New guidelines could boost mammography equipment market

The new breast cancer screening guidelines which lower the recommended age for mammograms from 50 to 40 could give a “significant” boost to the mammography equipment market, analysts have said.

The guidelines, issued last week by the US Preventive Services Task Force, are likely to contribute to the stable growth of the mammography equipment market, the data and analytics company GlobalData has found.

“The guidelines come as an anticipated change due to the gradual rise of breast cancer in women between 40 and 49 over the years,” says Aidan Robertson, medical analyst at GlobalData.

“While the current system may handle any immediate increase in requests for screenings, we can still expect some long-term growth in mammography equipment sales as more imaging installations are needed to meet the prolonged demand of the younger age range.”

Valued at US$1.9b in 2021, the global mammography equipment market is projected to reach a staggering US$4.3b in 2030, according to GlobalData forecasts.

Major companies such as Hologic, which have the largest share in the mammography equipment market and have products in 2D digital mammography, breast tomosynthesis and retrofit breast tomosynthesis, may benefit significantly from this recommendation.

“The overall direction of the mammography market is shifting away from film-screen mammography towards computer-based modalities that we see in digital,” Robertson explains.

“Digital mammography has been shown to be as good as and, in some cases, better at breast carcinoma detection while also improving the mammogram workflow.

“However, the main drawback is the increased cost which is the main barrier to digital mammography growth.

“Despite the financial downside, the advantages of digital imaging technologies are becoming clearer and as a result we may see film-screen mammography become obsolete.”

Within the digital mammography segment, breast tomosynthesis or 3D mammography is the main driver while retrofit breast tomosynthesis is offering more affordable options for upgrading 2D systems which is leading to higher sales, the medical analyst adds.

“The expansion of the recommended breast screening age range along with the advancements in digital mammography may contribute to the stable growth of the mammography equipment market going forward.”